Nothing quite beats a chilled pint of beer at the end of the working day… or on a summer weekend in the sunshine, and the average London beer drinker enjoys two and half pints a week. Croydon residents are the capital’s biggest beer lovers and topped the results drinking an average of three pints a week.
According to the research carried out by Bermondsey craft brewer Fourpure, to mark Beer Day Britain 2022 on 15th June, when it came to beer styles, the majority of London drinkers (65%) can be found sipping on a mainstream beer brand, but over a third (35%) said a craft beer would be their brew of choice. South Londoners prefer drinking craft beer (39%) over North Londoners (33%) and out of the capital’s 32 boroughs, Those in Merton – the home of Wimbledon Tennis – were the most likely (75%) to name craft beer as their favourite style while people from the North East London borough of Redbridge were the most likely (88%) to name a mainstream beer as their top pick down the pub.
The capital’s five favourite beer styles were lager (50%), IPA (11%), Pale Ale (6%), Bitter and Stout (6% respectively). Trendy Lambeth residents – with Waterloo Station and The London Eye on their doorstep – were the biggest fans of a Gose style beer (5%) and while Camden dwellers were most likely to plump for a Double India Pale Ale (DIPA) (6%). Meanwhile, the more traditional folk from Merton, including those in Wimbledon and Morden, were the biggest fans of stout by far with 38% naming it as their favourite beer style.
A trendsetting 7% of London beer drinkers like to choose new beers they’ve never seen before, while those from South East London’s Bexley are the most likely to pick a beer to impress their mates or date down the pub (10%). Those in riverside borough Hammersmith and Fulham – home to Fulham FC, Chelsea FC and a bevvy of high end restaurants – are the most concerned about the calorie count of their pint (15%) as well as being the most likely to choose a beer based on the artwork on the can or bottle (15%). People living in the South West London borough of Kingston Upon Thames are the most likely to play it safe, with over two thirds (73%) saying they decide what beer to have based on what’s familiar.
Rebecca Crotty-Jones, Head of Brewing Operations at Fourpure Brewing Co., said: “London’s long been referred to as the home of craft beer in the UK and we wanted to carry out a census of the capital’s beer drinkers to better understand the latest trends and behaviour. It’s interesting that while lager has long been a favourite beer for Brits, London drinkers seem to be shifting towards different options with one in five (20%) now naming a style of Pale Ale as their brew of choice.”
She continued: “It was surprising to see Croydon firmly on the map as a social hotspot but the data shows locals are drinking an average three pints a week (21%), as and it’s been gaining cool-factor for a while with the arrival of venues like BOXPARK and board game café bar The Ludoquist. It’s great to see residents of Southwark, where Fourpure’s taproom is based on the Bermondsey Beer Mile, are the biggest craft beer fans with over 5% having had a pint in a taproom! Campaign For Real Ale (CAMRA) data shows the borough of Southwark has the highest number of taprooms by postcode too, so they’re spoilt for choice [CAMRA Active Independent Breweries, 22 May 2022].”
When it comes to beer snacks, it seems the TV show ‘Two Pints Of Lager and a Packet Of Crisps’ rings true, with London beer drinkers naming a pack of crisps (31%) or chips (31%) as their ideal beer snacks, followed by a burger (29%), pizza (28%) and nuts (21%). Meanwhile, 4% rather refined Londoners said caviar or a lobster roll would be their go-to beer snack, and a further 4% of people surveyed said chocolate would be their top choice. People based in Kensington and Chelsea were found to be the most likely to pick a vegan meal to enjoy with a beer with nearly one in 20 (18%) naming plant-based food as their top pick. Meanwhile those in Waltham Forest were the capital biggest chicken wing lovers with over a third (37%) naming them as the dream pairing with a cold pint.
